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Dear Incider,

How about this for a headline: ”FEEDER CLUBS SERVE THE WEST COUNTRY GIANT.”

Clist and Amankwah to Torquay. Marvin to Cheltenham. Darren Jones to Forest Green. Anyone else feel that the 'feeder club' system is already up and running in the West Country?

With Rovers heading for the Conference in May, and City hopefully moving up to Division One, we could be six months away from a situation in which all the little clubs in the West Country - Torquay, Plymouth, Exeter, Yeovil and even the Gas - will be at the beck and call of the Big Boys at BCFC.

The manager of each of these clubs will be waiting for Danny's call to let them know which of our promising starlets will be gracing their grotty little grounds with their presence for a month. The conveyor belt of talent will seamlessly move out youngsters from Under 17 to Under 19 to Reserves to Div 2/3 club loan and then back to AG for a spell on the subs bench with the first team. In return should any of these clubs produce a youngster good enough to challenge for a place at BCFC, they would automatically give us first refusal.

For decades we have struggled to lure players to the sleepy West Country from London and the North. Now we have the chance to become the Mecca for footballing excellence for any youngsters born west of Reading and south of Birmingham.

Danny has his critics, but I still believe he has used the resources at his disposal admirably and has brought on youngsters such as Hill, Coles, Burnell, Kev A, Lita and Rosenior at the right speed.

Three years from now I firmly believe we will be established in Division One with a team packed with home-grown talent. And the likes of the Gas will no longer even be considered rivals to the Kings of the West Country.

Well Red

Dear Incider,

I have just watched the biggest load of uncoordinated rubbish we have witnessed at the Gate since good old 'Benny' left.

Colchester, a meagre side of very little ability, matched our lacklustre display of jolly promotion hopefuls to the extent that I was left wondering just what influence and respect Danny still has with the players.

Did we have a game plan? I think not! Were we really wanting three points? I think not!
Does Danny's ability as a manager instil us with oozing confidence? Stupid question.

I have been supporting this club through thick and thin for 33 years and I have to confess, if the Gas had been our opponents today they would probably gone home with the points.

Our defending is woeful, midfield non-existent, and the strike force? How the hell we have scored so many goals this season is beyond my comprehension.

I honestly do not believe we have had a game plan for the past two years. “Go out there and show them what you can do” must be the team talk. If a player asks in which position he should play, I'll bet the response is “just chase that round thing” or “you'll find the best place when you are out there.”

Joking aside, let's look at the team:

Phillips: Better this season (but only because he HAS a position…oh and no competition for that either. And he has Tony Butler/Matt Hill in front of him)

Butler: Top class. Brilliant asset. The only signing Danny has got right.

Hill: Home grown brilliance. Could do with a spell on the rack though.

Burnell: Hard grafter with no ability. No idea why he is in the side (and in truth he probably doesn't know why either).

Carey: I'm so glad he's back on the team sheet, but why not at right back releasing Murray? Is Danny that inept in understanding that he can't see where this talent should be?

Murray: Has been his best season up until Christmas. I guess his mum forgot to change his batteries on Christmas day. Needs a new set and fast.

Roberts: Works really hard and maybe, just maybe, will make a good striker one day. My guess is that I shall be in my box by then.

Beadle: Super-sub. I can't believe with all the spare players hanging around in the Premiership reserves that we can't get some real names to come and play for us on loan. Perhaps I can! Has Danny got any contacts of influential ability? Good question!!

Tinnion: Still able to turn it on, but fading fast. Probably his last season. Who can replace him?

Doherty: Could be a top player providing he doesn't keep upsetting the boss. Needs help in midfield. He can't do it all himself and putting Carey/Tinnion in the middle leads to the dire rubbish we witnessed against Colchester.

Bell: Best to stay on the transfer list

Peacock: No control, can only win the ball by fouling. No pace. He’s strong but his back’s had it.

Fagan: The goal he scored against Colchester was heading for row Z among the away fans. It was pure luck the post got in the way and sent it over to the other corner of the net. Another waste of space.

Enough of this. Let me get back to the BIG vote. Who shall we replace?

I am reliably informed that Mr Wilson is currently negotiating a new deal (maybe three years at £250,000 per annum)

This has to be a bigger joke than our Colchester performance.

My vote goes to replace DANNY WILSON, the so called top manager who has demonstrated to me that he has no idea how to organise a team, no influence around the divisions to bring fresh blood (we can't always rely on the kids), no tactical prowess, and no intention of getting us out of this division.

Ask yourself this:

Can you honestly see us playing well against the likes of Norwich, Sheffield Utd, Wolves, Coventry, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and the likes and taking points off them next year? That is of course if the miracle ever happens.

Now look at the lower end of Division One. Stoke, Brighton, Walsall, Rotherham, Sheffield Wed, Bradford. Would we fare any better there?

Now I hear you cry: “Oh no, not another change of manager!” YES. We would do worse that let Tins have a go in the role with Shaun Taylor in support. At least they have the bottle and the heart for the challenge

The one blessing is that we shouldn't get relegated this year.

Richard Hatton

Dear Incider,

Hmmm. Interesting interview and editorial comment on Christian Roberts’ real reason for not celebrating his Cardiff goal.

I understand Christians reasons…but I did think at the end if the game, after we were being kept back, it would have been good if Christian had come and acknowledge those 500 of us that decided to travel.

I am not knocking Christian, and I hope he will prove a very valuable squad member. That said, there is something about his body language recently that makes me think all is not well and our Christian is not settled at City.

Time will tell.

Markman

Dear Incider,

We should have signed Darren Barnard at the beginning of this season. Yes, Mickey Bell's all right, but he's no-where near good enough for the First Division, whereas Barnard obviously is, having proved himself with Barnsley in the Premier League a few seasons ago. The fact that he was available on a free transfer and we didn't even approach him seems a bit disappointing to me as, along with Brennan, he is definitely the best left-sided player I've seen at Ashton Gate. And where is Barnard now? GRIMSBY. Great signing for Grimsby but I can't help thinking if we had gone in for him he'd rather have come back to his old club who are going places rather than a First Division side who were obviously going to struggle in the coming season and could possibly even be replaced by us next season. Never mind, though. Judging by our league position it seems like Danny Wilson knows what he's doing!

Sam Allward

Dear Incider,

Living five hours away from Ashton Gate, it is possible to go whole weeks without meeting another fellow sufferer. However, in recent weeks I have:

(a) been flagged down while cycling by a desperate-looking man with a dog in the wilds of Norfolk. I was not entirely reassured when said gent explained the act by confessing without any preamble "I'm a City fan". I suppose it was my cycling gear - an extra large 2000 City shirt with 9 ATYEO on the back which did it. Having once been hailed with the endearing term “Oi! Shithead” by a visiting archaeologist who turned out to be one of our dear Bristol cousins from north of the river, it was at least preferable to discuss the Welsh Question (Roberts, Cardiff etc etc) with a fellow red.

(b) Begun an unbroken run of four attended games (starting with the traditional defeat at Notts County on Saturday 16 February) in which thousands of City fans gather together to discuss the Wilson question and also watch a football game. On the third of these (Northampton) I once again spied the man with the dog, this time without the dog, but sitting next to a young gentleman labelled TOMARSE and possibly also REDTOP (though he was deceptively un-labelled) and sporting the famous EDSON shirt.

(c) Watched two games transformed by that old chestnut - a frontman. One was Mark Robins, who once graced the local Norwich City shirt before (it is said) disgracing himself by knocking off manager John Deehan's daughter. Having wondered what on earth Beadle was doing on the bench for 80 odd minutes at Notts County when he seemed so capable of being the frontman when he came on, I have since (after two Mark Robins' strikes in as many games) regained my faith in Wilson, City and all attack-minded things.

(d) Decided against all the odds that in the last of my present run of four games - the forthcoming Tuesday night game at Cambridge - we can afford to give them the three goals from their only three attacks (we usually do) and still score at the other end to go through.

Gareth Calway
Sedgeford, Norfolk BCFC Supporters Club (two households, three members, village pop. 1,000)

P.S. I didn't write the post-script attributed to me in Issue Two about my name on the back of a seat. I would never stoop so low as to vandalise club property and, in any case, I've never managed to hit it off with any establishment, least of all City's.

Dear Incider,

A great idea to allow the supporters to vote for the away kit for next season, it shows that someone somewhere is listening to to the fans for once. However, who in their right minds thought up the blue kit? I know that we used to wear blue back in the pre-war days, but how long have we been a red and white team? For too many years to count!

I have to admit, I did like the theory of showing the Rovers that we really were the only team in Bristol by wearing blue, it would really drive them up the wall. But I'm glad it was eliminated. I would never have felt comfortable seeing my boys in blue. It’s bad enough that Phillips has a blue jersey this season. And I'm glad orange was eliminated, that was horrible (no offence to those who liked it, this is just my view).

East Dundry Red argues that we should do away with tradition and stop looking to the past for what colour our away kit should be. I was quite glad to see that not many people agreed with him, because we have every right to look to the past. We've got a great history. Yes, even the terrible 1982 saga is part of our great history, because look what came out of that - the Ashton Gate Eight.

In some aspects we have done that, because the black kit was chosen, but the white kit ran it close, so I think in that aspect, everyone got their way. Plenty of people voted for the white away kit, which was, in some people's eyes, looking to the past, and not thinking about the future (although I do want to point out that it was NEXT season's kit we're talking about, not an old kit), but the black kit was chosen, which will please those who think we should forget about all that’s gone and only look to the future.

The kit itself is a decent kit, although the design is a little boring. And let's face it, anything is better than the dreadful yellow kit they've been wearing this season!

All the best

Jax (City3Rovers2)

Dear Incider,

Remember the pain of being a City supporter? I do!

When my dad took me to Aston Gate for the first time we were in the old Division One. I saw Manchester Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Leeds all getting beaten by our best ever team.

Since 1980 it has all been downhill. In 23 years there have been few highlights - three promotions, five relegations, three cup finals (soon to be four!). And that’s it.

If you take the three promotion seasons out, that’s twenty years of watching mediocrity. I’ve lost count of the number of players I’ve watched in a red shirt, the number of times I’ve left the match thinking “Well it cant get any worse!” and it has.

Yet I still go to most home games. I still retain an air of optimism. I remember the heroes (Mick Harford, Glyn Riley, Alan Walsh, Dave Smith, Mark Gavin) and I remember the donkeys (Marvin Harriott, Ricky Chandler, Glenn Humphries).

Why do I come back for more? F***ed if I know!

Thornbury Red

Dear Incider,

I have sinned…Alright not sinned so much as cursed. There is a Gashead I play five-a-side with and despite his obvious disadvantage (he wears the WHOLE kit - eyesore or what?) he is not a bad sort. When they blew promotion at Cardiff, the mystery Gashead (lets call him Ian) wore his whole kit inside out as a mark of disgust. And no one removed the urine from him. It was like asking General Custer if he wanted to go for an Indian.

Anyway last Thursday was Ian’s birthday…so here is his present - my confession.

I am employed by Her Majesties Royal Mail and cover whatever round or walk I am given. Over Christmas and this past week I have been covering walk 73 for those at the N.D.O. To everyone else, that’s Downend Road.

Now, not much happens during these deliveries of junkmail and bills. Despite the Evening Post ranting about stabbings, Downend Road is NOT Dodge City.

Towards the end of the walk are two cul de sacs. When you average 40 minutes sleep a night and get paid as much as the average ten-year-old in a Nike factory in Bangkok, you don't tend to care too much about your surroundings. It tends to be letterbox, gate (leave it open), gate, letterbox, gate etc.

Until one morning I reached the end of one of the cul de sacs and for some reason looked up. Towering (towering…you sure?) above me was the Boycie Bradshaw Stand and I was at the back of the old open end - sorry the Blackthorn Holte End. It’s near the away side (not end – side!)

Blood began to flow through my battered veins as this was the closest I have ever got, or wanted to get, to the Hun. Like a flick-knife in a Marlon Brando film before he got fat and weird, the index finger shot upwards and I growled: "You baasuds". It was early and the good people of Alton Road were in bed and I wasn't.

I wanted revenge for…I dunno, the killing of the Buffalo or something, so I concocted a black magic ritual worthy of Dennis Wheatley.

Every Saturday I would get to the top of Alton Road, face the Boycie Stand, do the Jerry Springer loser sign on my head (you know, the finger) and then recite today's favoroured team: "Come ON Boston" or Scunthorpe or whoever. For good measure I would add a request that they facilitate themselves in such a manner so as to make female/male/sheep company redundant.

And it worked.

On the day of the Luton game I made a special effort invoking the spirit of Santa to ruin Boycie and Dunceford’s Christmas on the basis that they were the Taliban and hated baby Jesus.

And it worked...oh baby, did it work!

Today was my last time on the walk. I did the Springer/finger combination and suggested that Carlisle had come a long way and didn't deserve to give those bearded cave dwelling scum the time of day and beat them with only ten men. And guess what? WOOHOOOO!! Spooky.

Anyway, I am on a different walk next week so their fortunes may change. But not too much, because it is only a short trip to Alton Road to repeat the curse.

And you thought it was because Ray of the Rovers was an untalented half wit with a team made up of sick old man and boys...how little you know!

John Kavanagh

Dear Incider,

Dear S**thead,

I've just seen your Gas World page. I thought it was excellent and spot on.

The only thing that we have left to lose is our sense of humour, and without it we would never have been Gasheads in the first place!

We'll be back!

Jon (Blackthorn End Gashead)

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